The Ice Cream Man Cometh
by Kelleybel
Summary: After getting a job with gelati maker Paulo, Linda decides to "liberate" his "secret" - Giorgio


=D Whenever I hear the song _Greensleeves_, I can't help but think of this episode. By the way, if the title of this ep. sounds slightly familiar, that's 'cause it's a play on the title of an old black-and-white movie called _The Ice Man Cometh_. PLEASE R&R!!  
  
Disclaimer: Six words: I don't own _Round The Twist_. Enough said.

* * *

**_ The Ice Cream Man Cometh_  
Series 3 – Episode 11  
**  
Linda was feeling quite pleased with herself. It had been a long time coming, but she finally had a part-time job – waitressing at Gribble's All- Natural ice creamery.  
  
Sure, the pay was rather lousy – only three dollars an hour – but Linda didn't complain. A job was a job, regardless of the money.  
  
Today, though, Linda was definitely thinking of asking Mr Gribble for a raise. She'd been on her feet for her entire shift, running rampant trying to get everyone's orders in on time. She was having to take and deliver orders all on her own as the other waiting staff – Gribbs, Tiger and Rabbit – refused point-blank to even a lift a finger. Linda was soon in a flat panic and it wasn't long before she began to inadvertently mess up people's orders, which delayed service even more.  
  
Most of the customers were polite enough not to say anything as Linda, hardly able to catch her breath, brought them their orders and apologised continuously.  
  
_Most_ of the customers.  
  
Linda tried not to cringe as abuse was hurled at her from various tables.  
  
"Silly girl," snapped one old man as Linda brought him his order. "Thought you'd just forget about me, eh?"  
  
"Sorry for the delay, sir," Linda said automatically. Harold had told her many times before – the customer is always right. But then again, Harold was doing absolutely _nothing_ to prevent Linda from being chewed out.  
  
"Took you long enough!" a man in his mid-twenties sneered at Linda.  
  
"Sorry for the delay," she replied. "It won't happen again."  
  
"Better not, brown eyes," the man quipped.  
  
Linda's eyes narrowed dangerously. For a moment, she considered throwing the ice cream in his face, but decided against it.  
  
The customer was always right – and Linda hated it.

* * *

"Hey Linda, slacking off again, huh?" Tiger scolded, grinning. "Tsk tsk."  
  
Linda frowned. She was _not_ slacking. Perhaps if the three of them actually bothered to get up and _help_ her, service wouldn't be so slow and customers wouldn't be complaining.  
  
Linda grabbed some sundaes from the counter and was taking them to the people who ordered them when she was stopped by Nell.  
  
"Linda, this ice cream tastes like _plastic_," she said, motioning to the chocolate ice cream she held. "Don't tell me that comes natural."  
  
If it had been any other customer, Linda would have said something along the lines of, "Tell someone who actually cares." But Nell was a friend – Linda couldn't be rude to her. Even if she wasn't having the best of days.  
  
Harold and Matron, Gribbs, Tiger and Rabbit all looked up. Gribbs gave Linda a smug look. "Linda, get out the back and get some more cones! That's a good girl."  
  
Linda groaned silently. This was _not_ her day.

* * *

"Oh, _yuck_!" Linda groaned upon seeing several cockroaches creeping around in the storeroom at the back of the shop. She looked around, searching for the bug spray, when her eyes fell upon something she'd never noticed before.  
  
Several large canisters lined the shelves, and Linda walked along beside them, reading the labels in disbelief.  
  
_MSG . . . Non-dairy lactose acid . . . Artificial sweetener . . . Mango flavouring agent . . . Hazelnut Helper . . . Orange agent . . ._  
  
Linda felt anger building inside her. A lot of bad things had been happening today, but this had to take the cake. Nothing used in Gribble's All-Natural ice cream was natural. Gribble had to be the biggest fraud Linda ever had the displeasure of knowing.  
  
"Hey Linda!" Gribbs' smug voice interrupted her thoughts. "Hurry up with those cones!"  
  
Linda turned to him and his father, fuming. "There's something _rotten_ in the All-Natural ice creamery," she said in an oddly calm voice.  
  
"Linda . . . you're right," Harold said slowly. "This is a shameful, money- grabbing fraud. Obviously now, I must bite the bullet . . . and take the only honourable course of action."

* * *

"He _fired_ you, just like that?" Pete asked Linda in disbelief as he and Bronson walked home with her.  
  
"What a hydrant!" Bronson said.  
  
Linda frowned, then realised what her little brother meant. "It's _tyrant_, Bronson." She looked at Pete. "But I'm gonna show him. I'm gonna get an even _better_ job . . . or die trying."  
  
Suddenly Linda screamed, as did the horse that nearly ran her down. A voice yelled "Whoa!" and the horse skidded to a stop. Linda, Pete and Bronson looked up to see who had spoken.  
  
A man with a moustache sat at the head of a large red caravan that the horse had been pulling. He wore dark blue pants, with red vest over a white shirt. A green bandana was tied loosely around his neck, and a short- brimmed hat sat atop his head.  
  
"Hey! Where'd you learn how to drive?!" Linda practically shrilled at the man, the shock of nearly being trampled by the horse still lingering.  
  
"Where'd you learn how to _dress_?" Pete chimed in, staring at the man's clothes.  
  
"Sorry, forgive me." The man spoke with a heavy Italian accent. He looked around at the street. "This-a looks like a nice place to set up shop, eh?"  
  
Linda read the large sign on the side of the caravan. "_Paulo's Mobile Gelateria._"  
  
The man, whom the kids assumed was Paulo, winked at Linda. "The best-a gelati you ever tasted. Anyway, you don't know anybody who might want a part-time job, do you?"  
  
Slowly, Linda grinned from ear to ear.

* * *

Linda couldn't believe her luck. Working at the Gelateria was the best decision she'd ever made! And unlike her old job at Gribble's ice creamery, none of the customers ever complained about her. In fact, they were all singing the praises of Paulo's new waitress.  
  
Even Paulo himself couldn't have been happier with her. "Linda, you have-a got to be the best-a waitress I've-a ever had! I tell-a no lie! And the customers are-a so happy! Grazie, _tu ragazza bella_!"  
  
Linda blushed slightly at his praise. How nice it was to be appreciated! And no one had _ever_ called her a _ragazza bella_ before either.  
  
Having no more customers to attend to, Linda decided she would clean up around the caravan. She peered over the counter, searching for a sponge. She couldn't find one, so she went around the back and into the caravan.  
  
"I don't see any sponges, Paulo. Are they in the back here?" Linda didn't hear Paulo reply, but she did hear something. Someone humming a familiar little tune. Linda followed the sound of the song, then realised what it was.  
  
"Greensleeves . . ." she murmured.  
  
Linda stopped before a padlocked wooden door and listened. Whoever was humming Greensleeves was behind that door.  
  
"Uh . . . hello?" Linda called.  
  
The humming stopped. "Paulo?" a boy's voice asked from behind the door. "You sound . . . different."  
  
Linda paused. "No . . . it's Linda. Who are you?"  
  
"Giorgio," the voice answered. "Paulo keeps me here to make ice cream. Want some?"  
  
"Uh . . . no . . . How long has Paulo been keeping you here for?"  
  
"Hmmm, let's see . . . today's Saturday, so that would make it . . . my whole life! Why?" Then he added suddenly, "Oh, but I like it here, and Paulo says it's very dangerous out there for a human ice cream maker."  
  
Linda's mind reeled. Paulo seemed like such a nice man. How could he be keeping someone prisoner? "You mean . . . you've never been outside . . . you've never seen the world?" she asked Giorgio.  
  
Giorgio paused. "Well . . . once there was a crack in the roof . . . I saw this big blue thing."  
  
"The sky . . . " Linda said softly.  
  
"Is that what it's called?" Giorgio wondered.  
  
Linda's heart was breaking at the thought of poor Giorgio's deprivation. "Giorgio . . . I'm gonna get you out of here! I don't know how, but I'm gonna set you free, I _promise_!"  
  
Giorgio sounded excited at the idea. "Oh, okay! I'll have a snow cone waiting!"

* * *

The sun was beginning to sink below the horizon as Bronson craned round a tree, staring at Paulo's caravan through binoculars. "All clear," he reported. "No sign of any hydrants, Linda."  
  
"That's _tyrants_, Bron," Linda corrected him.  
  
Bronson looked up at her, irritated. "Hydrants, tyrants, who cares? I just wanna kick some gypsy butt!"  
  
Pete was against the whole idea of liberating Giorgio in secret, but Linda had talked him into coming along anyway. "Yeah, there's nothing I love better than sneaking around terrorising perfect strangers." He deliberately dripped plenty of sarcasm so Linda would get the point.  
  
She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "He's _not_ a stranger, and believe me, he's _far_ from perfect."  
  
The three of them checked their synchronised watches. They knew that exactly six o'clock, Paulo would leave the caravan to feed and exercise his horse.  
  
"Mickey's hand is on the six," Bronson whispered, staring at his Mickey Mouse watch.  
  
Right on cue, Paulo came out and untethered his horse, leading it away.  
  
"This is it." Linda quickly went over the plan again. "If anything goes wrong, run like crazy back to the lighthouse. Let's go!"  
  
The three of them dashed towards the caravan. Linda and Bronson crept inside; Pete kept watch at the door.  
  
Linda could hear Giorgio, still humming Greensleeves like before. She ran to the latched door. "Giorgio, it's me, Linda. We've come to rescue you!"  
  
"Oh, right. Do you want a snow cone?" Giorgio asked hopefully.  
  
Linda looked around. "The keys have gotta be around here somewhere." She rummaged through various odds and ends, searching for the key to the door that held Giorgio prisoner.  
  
"Come on, come on!" Pete called urgently from the door. "He's gonna be back any second!"  
  
Bronson looked down at the latch that held the door shut and realised something. "Um . . . Linda . . . "  
  
"No time for chit chat, Bron," she said tersely. "Help me find that key."  
  
Bronson rolled his eyes and opened the latch. It had been unlocked all the time.  
  
Linda heard the door open and gawked at her little brother. "How'd you do that . . . " She fell silent as a figure appeared out of the open door. "Giorgio . . . ? Oh . . . boy . . . "  
  
Giorgio had to have been the tallest person the Twists had ever seen. His head was mere centimetres from touching the caravan ceiling, and he easily dwarfed Bronson.  
  
Unconsciously, Linda looked him over. She had never been very good at guessing the age of a person just by looking at them, but she thought Giorgio looked about sixteen or seventeen – although he was so tall he easily could have been older.  
  
He had iridescent green eyes, jet-black hair, and skin that was as white as snow, having never been touched by the sun.  
  
Giorgio grinned down at them. "Hi! Which one of you is Linda?"  
  
Linda was still gawking up at Giorgio when Pete cried urgently, "He's coming! He's coming back!"  
  
Linda shot a glance out the caravan door, her eyes widening. Paulo was coming back with his horse. She spun back to Giorgio. "Quick! We've gotta get out of here!"  
  
Giorgio was torn; stay in the little room at the back of the caravan where he had spent his entire life, or go with this girl who called herself Linda and promised she would rescue him?  
  
Pete was still watching Paulo. "He looks angry!" he cried.  
  
Giorgio watched them, terribly confused. They were all yelling – at each other and at him. He didn't understand what they wanted him to do, and all the noise frightened him.  
  
Linda turned to him frantically and cried, "_**RUN!**_" Giorgio stared at her, still afraid. Linda screamed desperately, "_Just go!_"  
  
Giorgio, eyes wide, nodded and crashed through the wall of the caravan. Linda, Pete and Bronson stared in amazement at the huge hole he had torn in the wall. Pete verbalised what the three of them were thinking: "That's what I call an emergency exit . . . "  
  
"GIORGIO!" Paulo's voice yelled suddenly, and the Twists and Giorgio made a break for it.  
  
Linda, Pete and Bronson ran ahead, urging Giorgio on, who ran awkwardly, unable to coordinate his arms and legs properly.  
  
_Because he's never run before in his life . . ._ Linda realised with a pang of guilt.  
  
Giorgio stopped suddenly, his eyes widening in delight.  
  
"Giorgio?" Linda realised Giorgio wasn't following her anymore. She quickly scanned around her and spotted Giorgio hovering over something on the ground. She rushed up to him.  
  
Giorgio continued to stare, fascinated with the strange object he'd found. It was so perfectly round, so white, and so smooth. He'd never seen anything like it before. "It's _beautiful!_" he whispered in awe and picked it up. He looked at Linda. "What _is_ it?"  
  
Linda gave a tiny grin when she saw what Giorgio was so engrossed in: a polystyrene cup. "You don't get out much, do you?" Pete commented.  
  
Suddenly, they heard Paulo's voice call, "Giorgio!". Linda grabbed his arm. "Giorgio, come on!" The four of them dashed off again.  
  
Giorgio's chest began to ache and he was fast running out of breath. He'd never run so much in his life. Actually, come to think of it, he'd never run at all.  
  
Linda bit her lip when she saw how Giorgio struggled. She gently held his shoulders and ran with him, urging him on.  
  
Exhausted as he was, Giorgio felt that he could keep going, because Linda was there with him, always by his side. No one had ever been so nice to him before.  
  
Except Paulo, of course.

* * *

They didn't stop running until they reached the lighthouse. Upon entering, Giorgio was unable to contain his amazement. "Ohhh, wow!" His bright eyes took in every little detail. "This place is _great_! It's like a giant upside down ice cream cone!"  
  
_He would think that, wouldn't he?_ Linda thought with a sad smile. _All he's ever known in his entire life is ice cream . . ._  
  
She gently took him by the hand and went up to her room with Pete and Bronson following.  
  
They had no idea that Gribbs, Tiger and Rabbit were perched in a tree, spying on them. They knew that Giorgio made ice cream for Paulo, and decided if they could get Paulo's recipe, Gribble's All-Natural ice creamery would attract all its old customers back.  
  
In Linda's room, Giorgio rubbed his hands together in glee. "So, who's for gelati, then?" he asked eagerly.  
  
Linda put a hand on his shoulder. "Giorgio . . . you don't need to worry about gelati anymore." Giorgio stared at her in confusion. Linda smiled. "You're free! There's a whole _world_ of possibilities!"  
  
Giorgio's eyes widened. He'd never thought about that before. "Yes . . . yes, you're right! New flavours, new toppings, new little sprinkly bits – "  
  
"No, Giorgio . . . no." Linda took his hand. "Forget about ice cream. You don't need to make another ice cream in your whole life."  
  
Giorgio seemed troubled by that comment. Never make another ice cream? _Ever?_  
  
"Could I just have a choc top, please?" Bronson asked suddenly.  
  
"Bron!" Pete said indignantly.  
  
But Giorgio was only too happy to oblige. He grabbed a mug from Linda's bedside table and pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket. He ate a little chocolate, focused, then began to gag . . . or at least, it _looked_ like he was gagging.  
  
Giorgio lifted the mug to his face, and then – to Bronson's delight, and Pete and Linda's total horror – ice cream began to spurt into the mug – _from Giorgio's nose!_  
  
Outside, Gribbs stared in horrified awe. "Holy sausage rolly . . . "  
  
The mug was now filled with ice cream, and the chocolate Giorgio had eaten dribbled down over it – just as Bronson had ordered.  
  
Linda's eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped. "You're a . . . _human ice cream maker . . . _" she breathed.  
  
Giorgio handed the ice cream-filled mug to Bronson. Bronson tasted it cautiously, then exclaimed, "Yumbo jumbo! You'd never guess it came outta your snozzle!"  
  
Giorgio grinned widely. Another satisfied customer.  
  
Linda turned to him in astonishment. "How did you _do_ that?"  
  
Giorgio looked confused. No one had ever asked him that before. "Uh . . . I don't know . . . and I don't care, I just love making ice cream!"  
  
Linda struggled to get a grip on this. "But Giorgio . . . you _can't_ be happy – Paulo was treating you like a slave!"  
  
Giorgio shook his head. "As long as I have ingredients, and someone to eat my gelati, I'll be happy! I am an ice cream machine after all!" 

Linda gazed sadly up at him, clearly perturbed by the fact that Giorgio seemed to think – and be perfectly happy with – the fact that his sole purpose in life was to do nothing more than make ice cream.

* * *

Pete lay in bed, hands clamped over his ears. He'd agreed to let Giorgio sleep in his room . . . but Giorgio _wouldn't_ sleep! He spent the whole time babbling on about ice cream.  
  
"The best ice cream is made with exactly one percent natural emulsifier, fifteen percent sugar, twelve percent . . . "  
  
"Please be quiet, please be quiet, please be quiet," Pete pleaded over and over, until he'd had enough and took Giorgio to Bronson's room. And Giorgio _still_ wouldn't sleep.  
  
He was doing odd, whooshing impressions of various gelati machines.  
  
Frustrated, Bronson plugged his ears with his fingers. Giorgio had ice cream on the brain! "Please shut up, please shut up, please shut up . . . "

* * *

"Good morning, boys!" Linda said brightly to her brothers as she came down the stairs the next morning.  
  
"What's good about it?" Pete mumbled, voice thick with sleep. He and Bronson glared at their sister enviously. She'd obviously had a full night's sleep, and they hated her for it.  
  
Linda didn't notice. "Where's Giorgio?" she wondered.  
  
Pete and Bronson looked a little guilty. "Uhhhhh . . . "

* * *

"Linda, you don't understand!" Pete tried to explain as Linda paced furiously to the shed where the boys had stashed Giorgio for the night. "We had no choice! He was doing _impressions!_"  
  
Linda opened the shed door and looked around, immediately putting two and two together. Open window, no Giorgio.  
  
Pete and Bronson exchanged a nervous glance. "Uh oh . . . "  
  
"Linda!" a familiar voice called from outside. Linda, Pete and Bronson stepped outside to see Paulo and his horse approaching.  
  
"Linda! I'm-a so worried!" Paulo said. "My gelati maker, Giorgio, he's-a gone-a missing!"  
  
Linda didn't meet his eye. Even if Paulo _had_ been keeping Giorgio against his will, Linda couldn't help but feel a stab of guilt. She always had been a woman of conscience. "Yeah . . . you must just feel terrible . . . "  
  
"I've been searching all-a night," Paulo continued. "He's-a young, and not so smart. He needs me with-a him!"  
  
"Yeah, like a hole in the head," Linda muttered.  
  
Paulo leaned forward. "_Scuzi?_"  
  
Linda jumped. "Never mind . . . yeah, we'll help you look for him."

* * *

Alone, Giorgio wandered the streets. He could hear a wonderful sound – someone playing Greensleeves. Where was it coming from?  
  
Giorgio turned a corner, and suddenly found the source – a tape recorder, in the arms of Gribbs. As always, he was flanked by Tiger and Rabbit.  
  
Giorgio stared at the odd black contraption Gribbs held. Was this what was playing the music? How amazing! "Such beautiful music!"  
  
Gribbs, Tiger and Rabbit began to lead Giorgio away. Gribbs grinned. "That's it, frosty freak. Come on, come to Gribbsie."  
  
Suddenly, Giorgio stopped in his tracks, staring at a huge building bearing the sign _Gribble's All-Natural ice creamery_. Giorgio was awestruck. Never had he seen such a wonderful looking building!

* * *

"It's all-a my fault," Paulo said bitterly. The four of them had paired off – Pete with Linda, Bronson with Paulo – to search for Giorgio. "I kept Giorgio away from the world . . . now he's become a victim of it!"  
  
Bronson looked up at Paulo. "Why was Giorgio so . . . different?"  
  
Paulo smiled sadly. "Giorgio wasn't always like that. He used to be . . . er . . . much more . . . uh . . . _portable_."  
  
Bronson was confused. _Portable . . . ?_ What did Paulo mean?  
  
Paulo thought for a moment, then said, "I never told anyone this, but . . . Giorgio is . . . not as he seems."

* * *

Linda and Pete sighed and sat down on a park bench. They'd searched Port Niranda high and low, but Giorgio seemed to have disappeared.  
  
"It's hopeless," Linda said glumly. "We've been looking for hours and there's no sign of Giorgio."  
  
Nell spotted them. "Hey, kids! Been down to the ice creamery lately? It's really improved!"  
  
Pete and Linda's eyes widened. That could only mean one thing. "The Gribbles got Giorgio!"

* * *

Pete and Linda peered through a window looking in on the storeroom. Linda's eyes widened in horror at what she saw.  
  
Giorgio sat in a chair, his eyes bulging as Gribble poured a slimy blue ice cream topping down his throat.  
  
"That's not how ice cream should be . . . it's not _natural!_" Giorgio moaned.  
  
"Oh, no . . . " Linda's voice trembled. "Poor Giorgio . . . " Tears stung her eyes as she watched Giorgio. He looked ill – very ill.  
  
Giorgio groaned, having to force himself to make two more ice creams. Gribble left, and Giorgio doubled over, gasping in pain.  
  
"We have to get him out of there," Pete said tersely.  
  
Linda's eyes lit up. She'd had an idea. "And I think I know how . . . "

* * *

As Linda watched through the window, Pete banged on the back door to the storeroom.  
  
"Who is it?" came Gribble's voice.  
  
Pete boomed in his best "threatening" voice, "Consumer affairs, looking into reports of false advertising. May I come in?"  
  
Gribble panicked, immediately hitting the _EVACUATE AREA_ button on the wall. "Um, no! I . . . I'm doing something that can't be delayed! Just . . . wait there, I won't be a moment!"  
  
Pete banged on the door again. "Sir, I must come in. This is urgent!"  
  
"Won't be a moment!" Gribble fled the storeroom.  
  
"Giorgio!" Linda entered and ran to Giorgio. "Are you all right?"  
  
Giorgio smiled at her, but still looked a little unwell. "I . . . I don't feel so good . . . "  
  
As Pete and Linda helped Giorgio to his feet, Bronson rushed in. "Guys, you'll never guess what Paulo just told me!"  
  
"Then we won't," Linda replied. "Let's go before Gribble comes back."  
  
"SPRUNG!"  
  
Linda, Giorgio, Pete and Bronson spun to see Gribbs, Tiger and Rabbit glaring at them. "Hand him over, or else!" Gribbs threatened.  
  
Linda took up a defensive position in front of Giorgio. "Or else what?"  
  
"This!" Gribbs growled, pounding his hand with his fist.  
  
Linda wasn't in the least bit intimidated. Instead she shoved the trolley containing ice cream cones and such at the three boys, forcing them back.  
  
Fuming, Gribbs shoved the trolley at Giorgio. It hit him square in the stomach, and Giorgio doubled over in pain. He held his stomach and gagged. He was going to be sick.  
  
Gribbs, Tiger and Rabbit laughed cruelly as poor Giorgio gagged several more times. Suddenly, their eyes widened in horror as Giorgio's insides gave a tremendous heave.  
  
As appalled as they initially felt, Linda, Pete and Bronson couldn't help but laugh as Gribbs, Tiger and Rabbit were bombarded by a torrent of ice cream and topping in every colour of the rainbow.  
  
"We're outta here," Linda giggled and the four of them made a break for it.

* * *

They didn't stop running until they reached the park, where they had to lean against the trees just to stay upright, weak from laughter.  
  
Linda took Giorgio's hands and smiled. "Giorgio . . . thank you. You really are a special person."  
  
Giorgio looked down at her. "I'm sorry if I – "  
  
"No . . . _I'm_ sorry . . . for everything," Linda said. She regarded him solemnly. "All you wanted to do is make ice cream . . . and all I've done is make you miserable . . . "  
  
Giorgio smiled. "Linda, the thing is – "  
  
"If I'd just listened to you in the first place, none of this would have happened," Linda said softly.  
  
Giorgio considered this. "Maybe . . . but I'm glad it did. You've shown me the world." He grinned. "How many gelati machines can say _that_?"  
  
Linda was troubled again. "Giorgio . . . _please_ . . . can't you see you're so much more that just a gelati maker?" She gave him a grateful smile. "Giorgio . . . you've taught me a lot . . . thank you . . . "  
  
Linda now realised no one had ever moved her so profoundly the way that Giorgio had. The way he looked at life, the way he delighted in every tiny thing that Linda had always taken for granted. He may have been simple, child-like, even naïve at times, but Linda now admired him for those qualities. He had taught her that nothing should ever be taken for granted, and that often the best things in life were the most simple. Giorgio had changed Linda's whole outlook on life itself.  
  
Words couldn't ever express the immense gratitude Linda had for Giorgio. "Thank you" just wasn't strong enough. So instead, she leaned up to give him a kiss.  
  
Giorgio's eyes widened in fear. "Linda, _no!_"  
  
Too little, too late.  
  
Linda kissed Giorgio and he yelped suddenly. Linda jumped back, worried she'd somehow hurt him. Then she saw Giorgio, and her eyes widened in horror. What had she _done_?!

* * *

Paulo was busy mending his caravan when Linda came up to him rather tentatively. "Paulo?"  
  
He looked down at her. "_Si?_"  
  
Linda stared at her shoes. "Uhhh . . . I've got . . . um . . . good news . . . and bad news . . . first we rescued Giorgio from slavery at the Gribble's ice creamery – "  
  
"Thank you!" Paulo interrupted, drawing Linda into a huge hug. "Thank you, _bella! Bellissimo!_" Then he released Linda. "Where is he?"  
  
"Uh . . . "  
  
Paulo looked at her with big sad eyes. "And . . . the bad news would be . . . ?"  
  
Linda cringed. "I . . . kissed him, and he . . . turned into a gelati machine . . . "  
  
Paulo's eyes filled with tears when he saw the silver, slightly-humanoid gelati machine before him. "Giorgio!" He put his arms around the machine and sobbed, "He was like a son to me . . . but I knew it would only be a matter of time . . . before a kiss broke-a the spell . . . "  
  
Pete and Linda stared at him in confusion. "Uh . . . pardon?"  
  
"Ever since I was a little boy, all I ever wanted to do was make-a the best gelati in the world!" Paulo said by way of explanation. "But I was-a too impatient to study, so I stole a secret gelati recipe from a gypsy woman. She was _so_ mad, she put a spell on my gelati machine . . . and turned it into a little, breathing gelati boy . . . by the name of Giorgio . . . "  
  
Linda tried to grasp this. "You mean . . . "  
  
"_Si,_" Paulo replied. "Giorgio is really, how you say, an appliance."  
  
Linda stared at her reflection in the machine's surface, pensive. "But . . . if a kiss turned Giorgio _into_ a gelati machine . . . don't you think a kiss could . . . "  
  
"You mean, a kiss could bring him back?" Paulo wondered.  
  
Linda shrugged. "It's worth a try." Paulo nodded and stepped towards the machine. Linda's eyes widened. "No, no! I mean _me_." Paulo realised what she meant, said "Oh!", and stepped aside.  
  
Linda stepped forward. She stared at the machine, then leaned forward and kissed it.  
  
A rush of smoke clouded everyone's vision, and there in the machine's place stood Giorgio.  
  
"Giorgio!" Paulo rushed forward, hugging him. "Say, you don't know anyone who'd like a full-time job as a partner in the Gelateria, do you?"  
  
Giorgio's eyes widened in delight. "_Si!_"  
  
Paulo threw up his hands and cheered. "Let's-a dance!"  
  
Linda couldn't help but laugh in delight as she and Pete danced arm-in-arm, the way they used to when they were little.  
  
Although they had no music to dance to, and had even attracted a crowd of amused onlookers, Linda decided she didn't care; she was having too much fun.  
  
And, just as Giorgio had taught her, the simple things in life are often the best. 


End file.
